


Bother

by sollardragon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-25
Updated: 2015-08-25
Packaged: 2018-10-01 07:01:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10183517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sollardragon/pseuds/sollardragon
Summary: This is a story that follows Unforgiven and Nothing Else Matters. Draco's point of view after the war. Nothing turned out the way he'd hoped... by his own choices.





	

A/N: I decided to take pity on some of my readers. I realized that 'Nothing Else Matters' ended in a cliff-hanger and I'm sure some of you were disappointed when I didn't and anything to it after I posted it, so this is what I came up with. This takes place five years after ‘Nothing Else Matters’.

**Bother**

Draco watched Harry with the children, playing in the park in Godric’s Hollow, his chest tight with regret.

A year after the war, he’d stood back and watched as his best friend had married Ginny Weasley, smiling and standing in the place of best man in Ronald Weasley’s place, the red-head having died in the final battle… 

In fact, a lot of people had died in the war. Tonks, Dumbledore, and his own father among them. 

Remus had survived, surprisingly enough, when Fenrir had made a lunge for him and been hit with the killing curse instead of the gentle werewolf. 

How was that for irony. The man who’d made Remus what he was, killed trying to kill the man himself… Draco wanted to laugh but couldn’t.

_Wish I was too dead to cry_  
_My self-affliction fades_  
_Stones to throw at my creator_  
_Masochists to which I cater_  
_You don't need to bother;_  
_I don't need to be_  
_I'll keep slipping farther_  
_But once I hold on,_  
_I won't let go 'til it bleeds_

Six months after Harry was married, Draco had fulfilled the marriage contract with Astoria. She’d told him she would always love him… and he’d believed her. 

More fool he was. 

After Scorpius’ birth, she’d lost all interest in either one of them. Four years later, Draco was well rid of the hateful woman. He guessed he deserved it for what he’d done to Harry after the dust had settled…

Every day he’d seen Harry with Ginny had felt like a knife in the heart, but Harry deserved a family… something they never would’ve had if they’d stayed a couple. He regretted hurting his love, but it had been the only way to get him to understand that obligations needed to be kept. They both needed heirs to continue the bloodlines… something that was sorely needed with so many deaths.

_Wish I was too dead to care_  
_If indeed I cared at all_  
_Never had a voice to protest_  
_So you fed me shit to digest_  
_I wish I had a reason;_  
_my flaws are open season_  
_For this, I gave up trying_  
_One good turn deserves my dying_

Harry was now the proud father of three rambunctious children and Draco was glad for it. At least he had something to hold on to now that Ginny was gone. A Death Eater had killed her last year when she’d been coming out of St. Mongo’s. Seemed she’d been pregnant with number four.

Now, both of them were single with children…

Draco was glad he’d been able to keep Harry as a friend if not a lover, but now, it was too late to go back to what they’d had. Those three months they’d had together kept replaying in his head in the dark of night, when he was most vulnerable. It was the only time he allowed himself to wallow in self-pity, regretting his actions.

_You don't need to bother;_  
_I don't need to be_  
_I'll keep slipping farther_  
_But once I hold on,_  
_I won't let go 'til it bleeds_

He remembered listening to a song a couple of months ago and had laughed – almost hysterically – as he realized it seemed to mirror his current situation. Funny how muggles seemed to think the same way as Wizards… who’d have thought it possible?

A screaming laughter from the field before him brought him out of his dark thoughts and he smiled as he realized it had come from Scorpius, who was laughing so hard his whole face was red as he lay under the two Potter boys.

_Wish I'd died instead of lived_  
_A zombie hides my face_  
_Shell forgotten_  
_with its memories_  
_Diaries left_  
_with cryptic entries_

He didn’t regret getting Scorpius because the boy made his life complete, as he was sure Harry’s was with his three children. Currently, Lily was asleep in the stroller beside him, still too young to roughhouse with the boys, though it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Looking at her, he sighed sadly at the beautiful little face. She was going to break someone’s heart one day…

He looked back up at the quartet playing in the open field, the boys dragging a willing Harry down onto the ground so they could jump on him. He so desperately wanted to talk to Harry about them again but he wasn’t sure if it would be well received now or if it would end their friendship… he couldn’t live without that.

_And you don't need to bother;_  
_I don't need to be_  
_I'll keep slipping farther_  
_But once I hold on,_  
_I won't let go 'til it bleeds_

_You don't need to bother;_  
_I don't need to be_  
_I'll keep slipping farther_  
_But once I hold on:_  
_I'll never live down my deceit_

No, he wouldn’t reveal to Harry his true feelings. He’d burnt that bridge. It was best to leave things as they were. He would continue to wear the mask of contentment he’d worn since the day he’d turned his back on his and Harry’s relationship and hold dear to the friendship they’d managed to forge despite the bitterness Harry had felt.

This was his life now… if nothing more came out of it, he still had a part of Harry to live with.


End file.
